San Souci is French for “without worry”. The name resonates with the local community, who here seem laidback and like to take things easy. I wondered how this communal attitude would reflect on their menu offerings.

I came on a Monday morning and it was busier than anticipated; looks like one of the things to do here in such a quiet location is to relax and have a coffee at 10:30am in the morning.

Most buses from Rockdale come through San Souci, or if you're travelling from the city a 303 bus will take you right outside. Bella Dee is a corner cafe with great character presence, gathered by a white picket fence and a cozy villa vibe.

Coffee

They don’t offer single origin or cold brew here, and an iced coffee comes with a big cup of ice and a shot of espresso. Normally I would be diva about alternative brewing, but the San Souci locals just know what they want and I respect that. Besides, it was an excellent coffee!

I call it "Espresso on the Rocks".

Also got to try two fruit smoothies: Tropical Crush and Mixed Berry. The Tropical Crush tasted a lot of a Tropical slushie (yum!) and the Berry One was quite milky but mildly sweet.

On the menu today: Corn Fritters, The Rosey Benny, The Pretty Smash, and Acai Berry Bowl and Buttermilk Pancakes.

If in doubt, order Corn Fritters

It's a simple dish but it's a no-brainer that is a dish comes with smoked salmon, a healthy portion of avocado, basil pesto, sweet pickled onion and a swipe of house-made labneh it's going to be a winner. There were plenty of whole juicy corn chunks in the fritter, and I loved the tang of the labneh on the plate with the combination of pesto and sweet onion.

Something a little different: the Rosie Benny

Your easy going laidback eggs benedict on sourdough instead of english muffins, and with beetroot hollandaise.

Let's get pretty smashed on The Pretty Smash

Berry delicious! Acai Berry Bowl

When an Acai bowl is just sugar then what's the point in having one? Luckily this wasn't too sweet at all, and if you want more sweetness there's honey on the side. My favourite part was the granola, which was deliciously crunchy and toasted perfectly.

Who doesn’t love Buttermilk Pancakes?

There's a lot you can say about a cafe's pancakes, and this one is one of the most prettiest pancakes I’ve ever had which means this cafe takes itself super serious! With fresh Italian ricotta, fresh fruit, honey figs, poached blueberries and praline nuts not only did it look good but it tasted good too. The sweetness of the pancake was offset by the creamy and slightly sour ricotta and the buttermilk certainly makes the difference in the texture.

Instagram factor: Great lighting, beautiful dishes on pink plates, excellent lighting outside and window seats inside. The Pancake is the most beautiful - the stark contrast between the golden cake and the purple fruit was such a stand out and the surrounding flowers and fruit really made the dish pop. Would be interesting to see a sauce pour on the eggs benedict.

Conclusion: Love the vibes, love the florals, love the excellent execution of flavours and textures across all the dishes. Definitely worth traveling to San Sousi for.